accommodation review

*There were not a lot of online reviews about “Guesthouse in Korea” in Jongno and I decided to re-post this one I made a year ago for a forum. I think it was a good call since the link of the pictures in that post has been already broken and I don’t know why. So hopefully, the pictures would be ‘permanent’ here. (Also, I will be translating the content as it was written in mixed English and FIlipino).

We stayed in “Guesthouse Korea” (or “Guesthouse in Korea“) for 4 days. We rented a Twin Room which costs KRW 40,000/day. Their check-in time was at 1:00 PM and check-out time at 11:00 AM. We arrived around 9:00 AM in the Guesthouse but since their check-in time is at 1:00 PM and we also had a tour by 10:30 AM, we just left our things by the reception area. But on our 4th day, since the check-out was at 11:00 am, we decided that it was best to just pay for the whole day stay because our flight back to Manila was still at 9:30 PM.

Reservation: We emailed the guesthouse more than a month before our arrival and they generally reply within the day. But unlike other guesthouses, they ask for 30% deposit and it should be via PayPal. They will send an invoice quoted in USD so be ready for the conversion. The rest of the balance will be paid once you check-in.

Directions: They have airport transfer but we opted not to in order to save monet and it was of course cheaper to reach the guesthouse through mass transportation. From the airport, we took the Commuter Train until Seoul Station: KRW 3,800 + KRW 500 refundable deposit = KRW 4,300. It took us around 50 minutes of travel time. Then from Seoul Station, we walked to the subway proper to take the train until Jogno(3)sam-ga (KRW 1,000 + KRW 500 refundable deposit, if you are using T-Money, it costs KRW 900). From EXIT 7, we then walked the length of Donhwamun (the blue lines in the map) until the road in front of Changdeokgung Palace. From there, you can see the Hyundai Gas Station. Enter the street/alley directly next to the and you will immediately see the “Guesthouse Korea” sign.

Donhwamun road, lined with trees and storesView of the Changdeokgung Palace from Hyundai Gas StationOutside of “Guesthouse Korea”, farthest lisghtpost from the Gas Station. The red or brown (LOL) is actually a convenience store.

Breakfast: They serve free breakfast from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, consisting of toasts, butter and jam and they also have a coffee maker you can use 24/7. They also have tea available for non-coffee drinkers. You can use their mugs, plates and utensils as long as you wash them after. Of course, hot and cold water are free of charge fot hose who want to eat instant noodles and refill their water bottles before leaving for the day.

Computer and WiFi: They have a common area with cable TV and three computers. You can use them for free and they also have free WiFi connection. However, the WiFi signal reaching our room wasn’t that strong on the second floor, most probably because of the but it was tolerable with 2-bar signal.

Room: I can’t speak for other rooms especially the dorms. Most bad reviews we read about Guesthouse Korea concern the dorms and reservation, but good thing we had no such problems. Again, we took a Twin Room with two single beds. I was not expecting a lot and we were not exactly picky with the places we sleep in but the room was more than okay. When we went to our room, the bed was fine, we had cement walls, the air-conditioning was in excellent shape, we had a TV (with local channels), hair dryer and mini-ref (which we never used). The hot and cold shower was functioning properly as well. The floor area was enough for out things, with extra space to walk around. Towels were also provided but you would have to ask for them first in the reception.

At night, however, it was quite difficult to move around the common area because some of the guests were quite fond of bonding with each other over drinks but they were usually friendly, though. LOL We were generally satisfied with our stay, especially we only spent around Php 1,600/night, where it was difficult to find a place with an ensuite bathroom (because most Filipinos are aversed of shared bathrooms LOL). We also saw Yim Guesthouse and Mama’s Guesthouse in the same area.